Have A Little Faith
by Enlightened Tenshi
Summary: The Guardians still watch over mankind, making sure that no new threats plague the minds of children. But what if a new Guardian were to arise? One that no one could have foreseen?


**Chapter One**

* * *

The howling winds whipped his white beard into his face, snow beginning to cloud his vision.

Nicholas St. North pressed onward through the thick drifts. He wore his thickest winter coat, along with his leather boots and cap. He squinted through the whirling snow, trying to get a sense of direction, but there was nothing visible.

He couldn't give up.

There wasn't enough time…

Tooth had just alerted him to a possible Nightmare sighting to the north of Siberia, and North had gone to collect information. But somehow, his sleigh had been hit with an abnormally strong gust of wind, and he had been thrown into the snow.

His only worry was his reindeer, but he knew they would simply return home.

A heavy gust threw him face first into a deep snow bank. His strong body heat caused the surrounding snow to melt away and pull him deeper into the cold.

North struggled to his feet, trying to pull himself free from the icy hole. But the snow only piled in thicker as he continuously reached for a handhold.

"Damn…" he cursed. If he tried to escape, he would be completely buried.

Where was Jack when he needed him? The headstrong Guardian of Fun would be able to pull him from the icy depths. But there was no telling where he could be, unless…

A heavy gust of wind whirled over the top of the hole, sending snow into North's beard and face. He thought he saw a figure through the roaring gale.

"Jack!" he called. A few moments passed, then the wintry teenager stood on the edge of his icy prison. He looked down at him confused. "North? What are you doing in a blizzard like this?"

He shook his head. "Not important. Just help me out of hole." With a wave of his staff, Jack lifted the large Russian from the deep cavern. North brushed the remaining snow from his clothes. "Many thanks, Jack!"

He gave the winter spirit a hard pat on the back, sending him sprawling into the snow. Jack righted himself quickly, raising a hand to slow the winds until the air was calm.

He leaned against his staff. "Now, why exactly are you in Siberia during a snowstorm?"

North cracked his back and neck, turning to look at the teen.

"Tooth thought she saw Nightmares here. I came to have look, but got hit with strong gust of wind and fell from sleigh. Good that you were here, Jack." The Guardian of Wonder sighed. "Now will have to travel on foot to search for Nightmares."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I've been flying all over Siberia for the whole evening and I haven't seen anything."

He stuck his staff into the snow, flipping onto the crook and placing his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Everything's been smooth from my viewpoint."

North wriggled his moustache, then nodded. "Suppose can come another time for full search. But keep eyes peeled, Jack Frost." The teenager mock saluted as the older Guardian pulled a snow globe from his coat pocket, throwing it down and stepping through the newly opened portal.

As the hole closed, Jack wrinkled his nose at the thought of Nightmares returning. It probably wasn't a full-fledged return of the Nightmare King, but the Guardians would need to be watching.

He hopped down from his perch, pulled his staff from the ground, and was about to call the winds when a faint silvery light hit the g-curve of his staff.

Jack looked into the sky to see Manny, or the Man in the Moon, shining down on him.

The winter spirit looked up at the creator of the Guardians questioningly. The light had a certain feeling to it, but one that Jack couldn't place. It was warm, but urging, almost calling something to attention.

Jack just shrugged it off as Manny being friendly, called the winds, and went along his way.

What he didn't realize was that Manny had been trying to tell Jack that a new Guardian was coming.

* * *

Ceres shot up from her bed, shaking and panting. It had been another nightmare. This was the third one this week, which would be the thirteenth this month.

She rubbed her temples, trying to will the oncoming headache away. No such luck. Giving a hearty groan, Ceres pulled herself out of bed and went to fetch the Excedrin.

She entered the kitchen and glanced at the microwave clock. 2:47. Four more hours to sleep. Or not sleep. She popped open the medicine bottle, shook out two pills, and swallowed them without water, deciding against causing any noise.

The nightmares had begun a few months ago, just after her nineteenth birthday. She had tried to not let them get to her, telling herself that they weren't real. But sometimes she would wake up screaming, tears falling down her cheeks

Her parents had become worried about her, the purple circles around her eyes and her increasing lethargy not going unnoticed.

She shrugged it off as stress from college; she was a freshman after all. And that could have been one of the reasons. But she doubted it.

Her dreams were filled with fear and darkness, a haunting voice chasing her throughout the recesses of her mind.

She felt phantom hands caress her and pull her in every direction, and eyes the color of deep gold popped up wherever she ran.

They frightened her… yet they also seemed to call her. Luring her into their false light.

And she always ended up in the light, feeling warm and safe.

Then the light would fade and she would be trapped.

Ceres shook her head to clear away the twisted thoughts. "It was just a dream. Nothing more."

But in her heart she knew that was far from the truth. She knew who was sending her the dreams, who twisted her mind into his own plaything.

Pitch Black; the King of Nightmares.

She knew of him, ever since she was little. Knew and feared him.

But she would never admit it out loud.

The shadows around the kitchen suddenly seemed to stretch towards her. Ceres bolted to her room, shutting and locking her bedroom door behind her. She turned on her overhead light, throwing the room into bright yellow light.

She sighed, wandering back to her bed. She jumped onto it from a couple of feet away to prevent grabbing hands from underneath catching her ankles and dragging her away.

Back into her warm blankets, she snuggled into the vacated warm spot her body had created. Even with her overhead light on, she was still paranoid.

So she decided to think about something she knew would calm her mind: the Guardians. Ever since she was small, her parents had told her stories of the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and especially Jack Frost.

She blushed slightly at her past crush. Ceres had always had a slight infatuation with the chilly winter spirit. His fun-loving nature made her laugh. Just thinking about him now made her giggle. And thinking about him caused her to trail to the other Guardians.

The colorful, sporadic Tooth, flying across the world to collect children's teeth, as well as their memories.

The quiet and cherubic Sandman, sprinkling his Dreamsand onto children to ward away the darkness of nightmares and invite peaceful sleep.

The old and jolly North, eyes filled with wonder as he created magic for kids every Christmas.

The fluffy Easter Bunny, creating his eggs and inviting hunts for the treasures every spring.

And finally, the carefree and clever Jack Frost, causing snow days and fun for all ages.

Ceres closed her eyes, filled with the comforting thoughts of the Guardians. She sighed in longing. "If only I could meet them…" she whispered. "It must be great to be a Guardian…"

The girl snuggled deeper into her covers, lost in her dreams.

~0~

Sandman had been making his rounds across the southern U.S. when he felt a very strong pull on his Dreamcloud. He almost shrugged it off at first, but another sharp tug caused him to turn in a southeastern direction.

He flew for a couple of minutes before he landed in a small Texas town. Nothing _seemed_ to be out of the ordinary, but past experiences made Sandman scope out the nearby houses.

He passed several large houses, each with at least one small child sleeping soundly inside. It wasn't until the fourteenth block he passed that he stopped with a jerk. Sandy backtracked, eyeing the one-story brick with interest.

Something was calling him towards the house. He sent out a small amount of Dreamsand to unlock the window, then floated silently into the bedroom.

A small cloud of sand circled the head of the bed's occupant, displaying a happy dream of a teenaged girl playing with a large dog and a young girl. Then the dream became bigger.

Sandy blinked in astonishment.

He saw himself in the dream, playing with the two girls. After a little while, Tooth joined in, then North, Bunny, and finally Jack. All of the Guardians were gallivanting around and having a great time.

Then the bed's occupant turned over. A girl in her late teens lay fast asleep underneath the covers. Sandy was utterly shocked. _How is this possible? _He thought.

Usually, children stopped believing after they turned about thirteen or so. It was rare to have such an old believer. It was a gift, actually.

Sandy moved forward and moved some hair gently out of the teen's face. She smiled and snuggled deeper into her pillow.

The small man smiled in delight. He just _had _to tell the others! Sprinkling a pinch more sand at the girl's dream, Sandman glided out the open bedroom window into the clear night sky.

~0~

A few moments later, after the light from Sandman's Dreamcloud had faded from sight, a dark shadow seeped out from underneath Ceres' bed. It shifted in mid-air, changing into a skeletal black horse, its eyes a bright yellow.

A Nightmare.

The animal snuffled at the air, pawing the ground, then leapt for the swirling Dreamsand floating over Ceres' head.

It materialized into the dream, turning it a deep black. The dream quickly transformed into a nightmare, causing Ceres to toss and turn in her bed sheets. As she writhed, another figure appeared in her bedroom.

It shifted into a standing position, golden eyes illuminating sharp features set into a grey face. The figure stood tall and imposing at the foot of the girl's bed, a smirk tugging at his lips.

The Nightmare King himself.

"Well, it would appear that we meet again, my dear. You just can't seem to stay awake, can you?"

Pitch stalked over to the wall, flicking off the light switch, dipping the room in shadows. He turned to see several Nightmares enter the small room.

He grinned. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" With a snap of his fingers, the Nightmares lunged at the girl, enveloping her in darkness.

~0~

The next morning brought another sunny day to the world, and another migraine for Ceres. "Ugh… what a horrible night…" She dragged herself from the bed and into her bathroom. She barely glanced at herself in the mirror, but looked away quickly. The bags were worse than usual; she looked like someone had punched her in both eyes. Oh well… nothing a little make-up couldn't cover.

Ceres turned on the faucet, making the water steaming hot. She stripped down and hopped into the shower, cleaning herself thoroughly. As she washed, she thought about the dream she had had the night before.

_It had been dark… so dark… she could hear her friends calling her, but she couldn't answer. Then the screaming started. She could hear the Guardians screaming in horrible pain, torturous sobs escaping her. _

"_Sandy?!" she screamed. "North!? Tooth! ?" She turned in a complete circle, searching for any sign of them. A feather, a pinch of golden sand._

"_Bunny, Jack?! Somebody, anybody! Please answer me!" _

_She was frantic now. "Reedie! Please answer!"_

_A child's scream was her only answer, followed by the yelping of a dog._

"_Okami!" She whistled, but the dog didn't show._

_She continued to cry as the screams changed into wet gurgles. Suddenly, they stopped. Ceres fell to the floor, her sobs the only sound in the darkness. _

_She sat on the floor, an overwhelming sense of loneliness filling her, terrifying her. She began to rock back and forth. "Please…" she whimpered, "I don't want to be alone…" _

_A sensation on her head caused her to stiffen for a moment. It felt like… fingers? Ceres whipped around. _

_But there was no one there._ _She scrambled to her feet, not wanting to give her stalker an advantage. A cold chuckle suddenly filled the space. _

"_Now now, there's no reason to act like that…" a voice admonished. _

_Ceres felt as if her entire body had been dipped in ice water. "W-who's there?" she called out. She knew exactly who it was, but there was no way she was going to tell him that. _

_Another chuckle sounded from behind her. She turned to see more darkness. This continued for several minutes, until Ceres decided to end this little game. _

_She ran. _

_The darkness stretched out in front of her and behind her, but moving was better than staying still. Ceres pumped her arms to increase her speed. She couldn't hear anything following her, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything there. _

_After what seemed like ages, she heard loud breathing behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see several pairs of bright golden eyes following her. Her fear increased and she sped up, trying to escape the charging Nightmares. _

_They began to scream at her back, snorting and throwing their manes. They were closing in on her… closer… closer…_

"Ceres?"

She snapped out of her thoughts at her mother's worried voice. She quickly shut off the water and wrapped herself in a clean towel. "Yeah, mom?" As she pulled back the shower curtain, her mother stuck her head in through the bathroom door.

Her mother's usually bright blue eyes were clouded with worry for her eldest child. She and her husband had done all that they could to help her, but nothing worked. Ceres just wasn't sleeping at night, and they didn't know why.

Emily Chaste had tried everything to help her daughter: therapy, tranquilizers, tea. All failed to give peace to the nightmare-driven teen.

She smiled at Ceres. "Just wanted to see if you were awake. I've got a fresh pot of coffee going downstairs. I have to run Reedie to school. Be back in a flash." She stepped in and kissed Ceres on the forehead, then left.

A couple of seconds later, Reedie, her little sister, came skipping into the bathroom. Her bright grey eyes shined as she hugged her sister. "Bye sissy! I'll see you later!"

Ceres hugged her sister tightly, then pecked her forehead. "Bye doll. Have a good day today." She smiled as Reedie's black curls bounced away.

She adored her little sister, loved her as if she were her own daughter. Reedie had been somewhat sickly as a child, so their parents had depended on Ceres to look after the little one. She had taken the job very seriously, helping out the most whenever Reedie had gotten sick. She had had nightmares when she was sick…

Ceres tightened her hold on the towel. _Now's not the time to think about that…_ she admonished herself. She strode from the bathroom and began to get ready for the day. She pulled out her blow-dryer, combing the knots out. After that, she dressed in a navy blue t-shirt with a black chemise over it, blue jeans, blue Converse, and a black beanie on her head.

She gave herself a once-over in the mirror, then headed down the stairs. Her mother was gone, off to take Reedie to school. Her father sat at the kitchen table, newspaper folded on his lap and a cup of coffee poised in his hand. He lifted his eyes to his eldest.

"What's up, Buttercup?"

She grinned. "Just another day." Ceres poured herself some coffee, leaning against the counter and taking a large sip. She closed her eyes in delight, missing the discreet glances her dad gave her.

"Cer…"

"Hmm?"

"Are… are you sleeping well?"

She quickly opened her eyes to stare at her father. She could see the worry etched into his emerald eyes, and she wanted to tell him the truth. That there was a Nightmare in her head almost every night. But she just couldn't… She smiled and nodded.

"Yup, pretty good. I actually feel more rested than I have been."

Her heart broke a little when her father's eyes brightened once again. She _hated _lying, but she couldn't bear to see the anguish that would replace the joy if she spoke truthfully.

He smiled. "I'm glad. You know how much your mom and I worry about your sleep."

Ceres bit her lip. "Yeah, I know. But really, I'm doing a lot better. Honest."

Her dad stood to put his now empty cup in the sink. He moved to leave the kitchen, kissing Ceres on the forehead as he passed her. "Well, I'm off to work. I'll see you after I get home."

Ceres nodded. "Okay Dad, be careful!" He saluted her with two fingers.

"Will do."

After she heard the door shut, Ceres slumped against the counter. _I can't keep this charade up for much longer. They'll notice before too long… _She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, then dumped the rest of her coffee in the sink.

Grabbing her bag from her room, she left the house, a single sentence hanging in the air afterwards.

"God, why me…"


End file.
